15 Movies to Inspire Your Wanderlust

More and more, we’re discovering just how much wonder and diversity our earth holds. We may not get to wander through all 195 countries on our own two feet, but thanks to literature and technology, we get a taste of each of them from the comfort of our home.

We’ve encountered many movies that captured our attention and had us itching to drop everything and fly off to somewhere new. While we couldn’t list them all, we took note of a couple of the most memorable ones. Check them out for ideas on what to marathon when you’re stuck at home. Let’s see if these don’t inspire you to plan your next vacation!

1. Eat, Pray, Love

Elizabeth Gilbert’s true-to-life story of traveling the world to “find herself” after her divorce inspires many of us to pack up our bags and eat to our hearts’ content in Italy, learn the meaning of prayer in India, and find true love in Indonesia.

2. Roman Holiday

The lovely Audrey Hepburn stars as a princess out to enjoy her first taste of freedom in the classic flick Roman Holiday. After seeing her gallivant around La Città Eterna with the dashing Gregory Peck, we’re dreaming of one day crossing out all the sights that she visited—and we don’t even care that the film’s in black and white.

3. Chasing Liberty

Speaking of princesses dodging her security detail to explore a foreign city, let’s touch bases with Mandy Moore in her role as the US President’s daughter in Chasing Liberty. This flick’s chock-full of exotic European locations, reckless stunts, and Matthew Goode in his dreamy British goodness. Plus, it gives us great ideas to add to our bucket list, like bungee jumping with our hot traveling companion!

4. Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight

If we’re talking about two strangers who connect in the middle of their travels, there’s no tale more epic than Jesse and Celine’s. Their relationship takes us from Vienna to Paris to the Greek peninsula in the span on eighteen years and three movies, and though there’s more talk than action, these movies give traveling such a romantic, serendipitous appeal.

5. The Sound of Music

This oldie about a nun who becomes a governess to the Von Trapp family remains a goodie to this day. It has us picturing ourselves running through the hills of Salzburg singing, “The hills are alive…,” and “Do-Re-Mi”-ing our happy way through the storybook Austrian town.

6. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

This is the movie for daydreamers, as it follows hum-drum employee Walter who takes off on the adventure of his life to track down a hotshot photojournalist and save his job. Featuring off-the-beaten-track destinations and unique personalities, this is an epic film that shouts, “Get off your chair and live!”

7. Jumper

Ever wished you could just teleport to any place of the world at a whim? That’s David’s reality in the sci-fi film Jumper. He has us green with envy as he casually eats atop Egypt’s ancient wonders, wanders through the restricted area of the Roman Coliseum, and basically jumps his way in and out of places to escape his enemies.

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8. Midnight in Paris

Paris becomes even more beautiful and magical come midnight, when Gil Pender, aka Owen Wilson, travels back in time and rubs elbows with the great men and women of the past. We can only hope that when we do get to visit The City of Light, we too not only get to gawk at landmarks such as the Palace of Versailles, Montmartre, and the Île de la Cité, but also meet F. Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, and company.

9. Under the Tuscan Sun

The breathtaking countryside of Tuscany comes alive in this romantic comedy drama about a writer who purchases a villa on a whim while on a post-divorce vacation. It sounds a bit like Eat. Pray. Love.—in fact, it’s based on a true story too—but we don’t mind. It has us wishing we too had a best friend who’d gift us with a vacay to Italy.

10. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

This movie about a group of best friends who keep the love going strong—and share a pair of pants—even as they spend their summer break apart is the perfect slumber party companion. Not only do the growing-up pains and the strong sisterhood feels resonate with us, it features the exotic lands of Greece and Mexico too!

11. EuroTrip

We couldn’t leave this barrel of laughs out of this list now, could we? EuroTrip shows many things we shouldn’t do while on our, well, Euro trip even as it takes us on one heck of a crazy ride through some of the continent’s most popular destinations. Berlin, Amsterdam, and Rome are just some of the stops on this trip—and of course, that nude beach in France.

12. The Beach

Known as one of the ultimate backpacker movies ever, The Beach follows a young Leonardo di Caprio as he discovers a hidden paradise in Thailand and realizes that life there is not as idyllic as it seems. While we’re not looking to stumble into life-threatening danger, this flick definitely inspires us to grab our backpacks and say hello to adventure—and Ko Phi Phi.

13. Wild

There’s no adventure quite like hiking over a thousand miles in the wilderness, and Cheryl Strayed totally became our life peg when she took on the Pacific Crest Trail all on her lonesome. We love this unglamorous, real portrayal of journeying toward self-discovery. Plus, we picked up some tips to help us when we go on our own long-term hike.

14. All My Life

This Pinoy flick left us blubbering in the end, but we sure enjoyed watching as Sam and Louie, aka Aga Muhlach and Kristine Hermosa, as they meet on a cruise and bond over shared experiences in different Asian countries.

15. That Thing Called Tadhana

We end this list with one of our very own recent blockbusters, Antoinette Jadaone‘s That Thing Called Tadhana. After all, it pretty much had everyone wanting to go to Sagada to experience its magic for themselves. We’re looking forward to more of our local treasures being put in the spotlight, especially since 2015 is Visit the Philippines Year!

Now, we want to hear from you. What movies awakened your inner explorer? Share them with us in the comments!

About The Author

Marian is an interior designer turned freelance writer who loves exploring the world on her feet and through her Kindle. Her favorite things to write about? Travel, lifestyle, coffee, and happily ever afters.